Lifting assembly for opening a hinged cover



April 14, 1970 KIYOSHI SANDOW ET AL 3,

LIFTING' ASSEMBLY FOR OPENING A HINGED COVER 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.13, 1969 w 2% nAm a E 2 8 5 o @w KG Ma da PM"?! Mum & MaHLewA ATTORNEYSA ril 14, 1970 KIYOSHI' SANDOW ET AL 3,505,752

LIFTING ASSEMBLY FOR OPENING A HINGED COVER Filed Jan. 13, 1969 5Sheets-Sheet 2 F I I I r l /(/ya Jfi/ Jan a aw Geo/ye A/Asvv INVENTORJMagda Wham Maflhwl flTTORNE YS A ril 14, 1970 KIYOSHI SANDOW 3,505,7

LIFTING ASSEMBLY FOR OPENING A HINGED COVER Filed Jan. 13, 1969 3Sheets-Sheet 5 g0.sfi/ Janc/ow GEO/:96 h. A//en INVENTORJ A5110 &Matthew! J TTORNE YS United States Patent US. Cl. 49--386 ClaimsABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A lifting assembly separate from a skylightcover and a curb, or similar construction, but adapted to be attachedthereto for opening or raising the cover relative to the curb.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The field of this invention is skylights,heat and smoke vents, and similar installations wherein a cover isadapted to be pivoted to a curb or frame.

Various lifting or opening mechanisms have been used in the past forraising or opening a cover on a curb or other frame. Examples of suchprior mechanisms are found in United States Patents Nos. 3,036,406;2,923,226; 3,017,721; 2,137,751; and 3,251,158. With such structures,the forces of opening, from spring-loading or other wise, areconcentrated at the points of connection of the lifting mechanism to thecover and the curb. Since such covers and curbs are often made ofrelatively light gauge aluminum, the concentration of forces with theprior mechanisms requires the entire curb or cover to be made ofincreased strength material, or extensive reinforcement of the curb isrequired.

Additionally, because the prior lifting mechanisms have been fabricatedas a part of the cover and curb, rather than being made as a separateassembly, they have limited utility and it has been necessary tofabricate and assemble the lifting mechanism, the cover and the curb inthe same plant and with fixed designs.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a liftingassembly which is manufactured as a separate unit for attachment to theskylight, heat and smoke vent, or other installation for use. Suchassembly provides for simplified fabrication and a stronger structurethan in the prior lifting mechanisms. Further, the assembly of thisinvention distributes the loads or forces acting on the curb and coverduring Opening and closing of the cover, and generally stiffens suchcurb and cover, to prevent bending or damage to the curb or cover eventhough they may be made of relatively light gauge aluminum. The liftingassembly may also be mounted on a cover and curb at a remote point fromthe place of its manufacture, and on covers and curbs of differentconstructions, because the lifting assembly is a unitary structure whichmay be readily placed upon and secured to the cover and curb by screws,bolts or other fastening means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 an isometric view of the liftingassembly of the present invention found on a typical skylight or heatand smoke vent, with the cover being in an open position relative to thecurb;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the typical skylight or heat and smokevent with the cover in the closed position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the lifting assembly of this invention lookingdownwardly along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view, partly in elevation and partly in section,illustrating in further detail the lifting assembly 3,505,762 PatentedApr. 14, 1970 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, and particularlyillustrating the lifting assembly in the closed position correspondingto the positions illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, but reduced in size and illustratingthe lifting assembly in the partially open position;

FIG. 6 is an isometric view of a modified form of the invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the modified lifting assembly of FIG. 6,looking downwardly thereon as viewed in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view, partly in elevation and partly in section, of themodified lifting assembly of FIGS. 6 and 7, with such assemblyillustrated in the partially open position; and

FIG. 9 is an isometric view, illustrating in detail a portion of thepivotal connection and lost motion rneans provided with either liftingassembly of FIGS. 6-8.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the drawings, the letter Adesignates generally the form of lifting assembly illustrated in FIGS.1-5 of the drawings. Broadly, such lifting assembly A includes a curbattachment means C which is adapted to be mounted on and preferablysecured to a curb or curb frame F of conventional construction.Additionally, the lifting assembly A includes a cover attachment means Bwhich is normally connected to the curb attachment means C by a hinge H(FIGS. 3-5). The cover attachment means B is adapted to be mounted uponand preferably secured to a cover D which may be of conventionalconstruction and which normally is formed with a transparent or skylightportion 10 (FIG. 2). A first lift arm 12 is pivotally connected to thecover attachment means B and extends to a resilient means or torque barassembly R, the purpose of which will be described hereinafter. A secondlift arm 14 is pivotally connected to the curb attachment means C and isalso connected to the resilient means or torque bar assembly R. In use,the apparatus A is moved from the first position or closed position(FIG. 4) wherein the lift arms 12 and 14 are folded relative to eachother to the second position or open position (FIG. 1) wherein the liftarms 12 and 14 are in substantial alignment with each other by means ofthe force imparted from the resilient means R, as will be more fullyexplained.

Considering the invention more in detail, it should first be understoodthat the curb or curb frame F and the cover D therewith are merelyexemplary and are not disclosed by way of limitation since the apparatusA may be used thereon and on various other types of similarconstructions. Typically, the curb or curb frame F is made of aluminumwhich is extruded or otherwise shaped so as to have a side wall formedin four sections 15, 16, 17 and 18. As will be well understood, woodframing and additional structure may be incorporated or attached to thecurb or curb frame F in any known manner and such curb or curb frame Fis disposed in a suitable location such as on a roof, a building or thelike. The cover D is provided with a frame which normally includes aninternal frame element 20 (FIGS. 4 and 5) and an external frame element21 which are secured together and which retain the transparent plasticdome or skylight 10 or other similar cover sheet. The frame elements 20and 21 are preferably formed of extruded aluminum but they may be'formed of other materials as will be well understood by those skilled inthe art. A seal ring 22, preferably formed of rubber, neoprene or othersuitable resilient sealing material, is normally disposed on the cover Din any suitable manner as illustrated in FIG. 4 for providing a sealwith the curb F and in the case of the presant invention, also with theportions of the cover attachment means C mounted on the curb F, as willbe more evident hereinafter.

In the preferred embodiment, the curb attachment means C includes a pairof laterally spaced stiffening elements or curb rods 25, each of whichis welded or otherwise adhered to a first wall engaging bracket 26 and asecond wall engaging bracket 27. The first wall engaging bracket ischannel shaped with a longer leg portion extending into the interior ofthe curb or frame P so that bracket 26 is adapted to fit over the frontcurb wall section 15. The second wall engaging bracket 27 is shapedsimilarly to the first wall engaging bracket 26 and is adapted to bemounted on and to fit over the rear side wall section 17 of the curb F.For the purposes of manufacture and for providing some adjustabilityduring manufacture, the stiffening elements 25 are preferably formed assquare tubes which fit upon stub bars 25a to which they are welded orotherwise secured and which are in turn welded or otherwise secured tothe brackets 26 and 27.

The cover attachment means B likewise is formed by a pair of laterallyspaced longitudinally extending stiffening members or cover rods 28,each of which has its ends welded or otherwise secured to a coverbracket 29. and a hinge bracket 30. For purposes of the manufacture, theelements or rods 28 may be hollow square shaped Lubes or similar memberswhich are slidably disposed upon and secured to stub bars 28a (FIG. 4)which are in turn welded to the brackets 29 and 30.

The bracket 29 is substantially U-shaped so that it fits over thebracket 26 in the closed position (FIG. 4). The hinge bracket 30 is of asimilar or substantially similar shape as the cover bracket 29 so thatit is adapted to fit over the wall engaging bracket 27 as shown in FIG.4. The hinge H connects the bracket 27 and the bracket 30 together forrelative pivotal movement therebetween in a manner hereafter described.The hinge H is pref- :rably a typical piano type which may be welded orotherwise secured to the brackets 27 and 30.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 3, the upper lift arm 12 is disposed in aplane which passes substantially parallel to the vertical planes inwhich the stiffening elements or rods 28 are disposed. The lift arm 12is also disposed in a plane passing between such rods 28. The upper endof the lift arm 12 is pivotally connected between the rods 28 by anysuitable means, but for spacing purposes, such pivotal connectionpreferably includes a threaded pivot shaft 31 having nuts 31a on eachend. Such pivot shaft passes through the upper end of the lift arm 12and also the upper ends of the stiffening elements 28 (FIG. 1), with theopening through the lift arm 12 being larger than the diameter of theshaft 31. A sleeve 32 is disposed on each side of the lift arm 12 andeach sleeve 32 fits over the shaft 31 so as to provide spacers tomaintain the lift arm 12 in the intermediate position between thestiffening elements or rods 28, without interfering with the relativepivotal movement of the arm 12 with respect to the elements 28.

The lower end of the lift arm 14 is mounted between the stiffeningelements 25 in a manner similar to the mounting of the upper end of thelift arm 12 between the stiffening elements 28. Thus, a threaded pivotshaft 33 extends through a suitable opening in the lift arm 14 and thecurb rods 25 with retaining nuts 33a disposed on the outer ends of therod 33. Spacer sleeves 34 maintain the lift arm 14 in the intermediateposition while permitting it to pivot relative to the stiffeningelements or rods 25. The lift arm 14 is thus in a plane which issubstantially parallel to and between the vertical planes in which thelaterally spaced stiffening elements or curb rods 25 are disposed.

The lower end 12a of the lift arm 12 is disposed adjacent the resilientmeans R and is welded or is otherwise secured to one torque bar 40formed of steel or similar torque resisting material. The end 12a may beformed in numerous ways, but as illustrated, such end 12a is formed by asolid stub element 41 which fits into the tubular lift arm 12 and issecured thereto by a bolt 42 and a nut 42a therewith which extendsthrough the arm 12 and the stub element 41. The stub element 41 has anopening 41a therethrough (FIG. 4) through which torque the rod 40extends, and the stub element 41 is securely welded to the torque bar 40in proximity to such opening 41a so that any movements of the lift arm12 are transmitted directly to the torque arm 40.

A second torque arm 45 is also a part of the resilient means R and it isconnected to the upper end 14a of the lift arm 14. The upper end 14a maybe formed in numerous ways, but preferably it is formed substantially inthe same manner as 12a, the details of which are illustrated in FIG. 4.Thus, the end 14a is formed by providing a tubular portion at the end ofthe lift arm 14 for receiving a solid bar element 46 which is connectedto the end 14a by means of a bolt 46 having a nut 46a thereon, with thebolt extending through the arm 14 and the stub element 46. The stubelement 46 has an opening 46a therethrough and through which the torquebar 45 extends. The stub element 46 is welded or is otherwise secured tothe torque bar 45 adjacent its opening 46a so that movements of the liftarm 14 are transmitted to the torque bar 45.

The outer ends of the torque bars 40 and 45 are secured together by endplates 48, each of which is welded to each of the ends of the torquebars 40 and 45 so that when the lift arms 12 and 14 are moved from theopen position (FIG. 1) to the closed position (FIG. 4) torque isimparted to both of the torque arms or bars 40 and 45. The effect ofplacing the torque bars 40 and 45 under such torque force is to load theassembly A so as to exert an opening force tending to move the lift arms12 and 14 from the close position FIG. 4 to the open position of FIG. 1.

It should be understood that the end plates 48 need not be at the veryends of torque bars 40 and 45 but they should serve to prevent arotation of the outer portions of such bars 40 and 45 when a rotativeforce is imparted to the inner portions thereof by the movements of thelift arms 12 and 14 in the manner previously explained. To stabilizesuch torque bars 40 and 45 as torque is imparted thereto, stabilizingelements 50, which are secured together by a connecting plate 51 areslidably mounted on the rods 40 and 45. The rods 40 and 45 are free torotate in openings through such plates 50 so that the plates 50 merelyserve to keep the rods 40 and 45 in alignment with each other as thetorque force is imparted thereto from the lift arms 12 and 14.

In the uSe of the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. l-S, theassembly A is prefabricated at any point, whether in the same plantwhere the fabrication of the curb F and the cover D takes place or at alocation remote therefrom. The assembly A may be used with variousshapes and configurations of skylight constructions and heat and smokevents, as well as simi ar installations. Basically, the assembly A isadapted to be disposed on a curb such as the curb F and also connectedto a cover such as the cover B, with the opening of the cover B beingeffected automatically upon a release of a latch (not shown) or othersuitable means holding the the cover D in a closed position.

Thus, with the assembly A brought to the location of the curb F, theassembly A is disposed on the curb F by mounting the brackets 26 and 27as shown in FIG. 1 to the front side wall 15 and the rear side wall 17of such curb F. Retaining screws (not shown) may be passed through thebrackets 26 and 27 into the side walls of the curb F for additionalsecuring of the curb attachment means C to the curb F.

The cover attachment means B is secured to the cover D by attaching thecover D. with screws 58 (FIG. 4) which extend through the cover frameelements 21, 20 and into the hinge bracket 30 at one side and into thecover bracket 29 at the other side. Instead of the screws 58, it will beappreciated that the cover D may be welded or otherwise affixed to thecover attachment means B at the brackets 29 and 30. The hinge H may bethe sole means provided for the pivoting of the cover D relative to thecurb F or an additional hinge means (not shown) between the cover D andthe curb F may be also provided.

With the attachment of the lifting assembly A thus effected, theresilient means R is in the position shown in FIG. 1 and the arms 12 and14 to serve to hold the cover D in an open position. By pushing downwardy on the inner ends of the lift arms 12 and 14 in proximity to theresilient means R, or by pushing downwardly on the cover D to closesame, torque is imparted to the torque bars 40 and 45 since they aretwisted as the arms 12 and 14 move from the open position to the closedposition of FIG. 4. When the cover D has been moved to the fully closedposition, the cover D is held by any suitable latch such as the typeshown in the co-pending United States patent application Ser. No.659,946 filed Aug. 11, 1967.

When the latch is released, whether manually or due to the presence ofsufficient heat as in the structure disclosed in the aforesaid patentapplication, the torque forces which are placed in the torque bars 40and 45 upon a closing of the cover D thereby act to urge the lift arms12 and 14 apart from the position of FIG. 4 and thus an automaticlifting force is imparted to the cover D to open same to the positionshown in FIG. 1. The initial opening action is illustrated in FIG. 5,wherein the lift arm 12 has initially moved upwardly due to the torqueforces in the torque bars 40 and 45 so as to pivot the cover D about thehinge H and such other hinge as may be provided between the cover D andthe curb F.

In FIGS. 6-9, a modified lifting assembly A-1 is illustrated inconjunction with a curb F and a cover D which are the same asillustrated in FIGS. 1-5. The curb attachment means C in FIGS. 6-8 isillustrated as being essentially the same as the curb attachment C ofFIGS. 1 and 3-5 and therefore identical numerals and letters are usedfor corresponding parts in FIGS. 1 and 6 with respect to such curbattachment means C. Likewise, the cover attachment means B of FIG. 6corresponds with the cover attachment means B of FIGS. 1 and 3-5 andtherefore, the corresponding parts in FIGS 1 and 6 have correspondingnumerals and letters for identification.

The lift arm 112 of FIG. 6 corresponds with the lift arm 12, except forthe pivotal connection between its upper end and the cover attachmentmeans B, the details of which will be explained hereinafter. In FIG. 6,the lift assembly A-l includes a pair of lift arms 114, which togethercorrespond with the single lift arm 14 of FIG. 1. The lift arms 114 aresecured pivotally to the bracket 26 rather than to the stiffeningelements or curb rods 25 (FIG. 7). Such pivotal connection of the liftarms 114 may be provided in any suitable manner, but as illustrated inFIG. 7, spaced lugs 133 extend outwardly from the bracket 26 and arewelded or otherwise secured thereto for receiving the ends of each ofthe lift arms 114. Pivot pins 134 extend through each of the spaced lugs133 and through the lower ends of the arms 114 for permitting pivotalmovements of the arms 114 about such pins 134 and therefore relative tothe bracket 26. It will be understood that the same type of pivotalmounting as illustrated in FIG. 3 may be used for the mounting of thelift arm-s 114 in FIG. 7 since the type of such mounting is optional.

A resilient means R-l is provided in the modified apparatus A-l to takethe place of the resilient means R of FIG. 1. As illustrated in FIGS. 6,7 and 8, the

resilient means R-l consists of a double coil spring 140 which issuitably mounted in connection with the adjacent ends of the lift arms112 and 114 so as to tighten the spring 140 in torsion when it has beenmoved to the closed position (FIG. 8) for thereafter exerting an openingforce to move the lift arms to the open or aligned positions (FIG. 6).

The double coil spring 140 is preferably a continuous spring having bentends 140a which are disposed on the upper edges of the lift arms 114.The spring 140 also has an intermediate bight 14012 which fits over theupper edge of the lift arm 112. The coiled portions of the spring 140are disposed on each side of the lift arm 112 and are loosely disposedabout tubes 141 on each side of the lift arm 112 between the lift arms114. A bolt or pin 145 extends through suitable openings in the upperends of the arms 114 and the lower end of the arm 112 and also throughthe sleeves 141. Thus, with such spring construction, when the cover Cis moved from the open position (FIG. 6) to the closed position (FIG. 8)the arms 112 and 114 are forced downwardly and the spring 140 is coiledmore tight y so as to place it under torsion or which acts to move thecover D upwardly when the cover D is released from its closed position.Any suitable latch mechanism such as suggested in connection with theform of the invention shown in FIGS 1-5 may be utilized for holding thecover D in the closed position with respect to the curb F.

Although the upper end of the lift arm 112 may be pivotally connected tothe stiffening elements or cover rods 28 in the same manner asillustrated in FIG. 1 for connecting lift arm 12 to the elements 28, itis preferable to utilize a pivotal lost motion device which isillustrated in detail in FIG. 9 of the drawings. Thus, the upper end ofthe lift arm 112 has a sliding pivot pin 131 disposed in a longitudinalslot 112b for movement longitudinally from the extreme upper end of 112cof such slot 11% to a stop plate or plates 132, each of which preferablyhas a notch 132a therein for receiving the pin 131 in its lower mostposition. A coil spring is slidably disposed in the slot 112 with itslower end in abutment with the end surface 112d of the slot 11211 andwith its other end in engagement with the pivot end 131. Thus, the pin131 may move from the end 1120 toward the stop plates 132 by compressingthe spring 80. As a result of such construction, there is a period oflost motion or delayed transmission of the lifting force from the meansR-1 to the lift arms 114 when the cover D is moved from the fully closedposition to the open position. Thus, as shown in FIG. 8, the arm 112.has moved upwardly from the closed position a slight amount and the pin131. has moved to the left and has partially compressed the spring 80prior to the ends 114a of the lift arms 114 leaving their rest tabs 27a,upon which they are positioned when the cover D is fully closed on thecurb F. Continued upward movement of the cover D from the position shownin FIG. 8 results in the spring 80 returning the pin 131 to the end of1120 and an upward movement of the lift arms 114 as the spring 140continues to unwind during its lifting action. Such lost motion ordelayed transmission of the lifting force to the lift arms 114 resultsin an initial upward movement of the cover D prior to an upward movementof the lifting assembly A-l itself; thus, prior to the spring R-llifting both the cover D and the weight of the assembly A-l, the cover Dalready has some momentum so as to effect a more rapid lifting action ofthe cover D.

It should be noted that the pivotal mounting and lost motion deviceillustrated in FIG. f the drawings could be utilized in the form of theinvention illustrated in the FIGS. 15 if so desired.

7 What is claimed is: 1. A lifting assembly adapted to be mounted on acover and a curb, comprising:

(a) curb attachment means adapted to be mounted on and extend from oneportion of said curb to another portion thereof;

(b) cover attachment means adapted to be mounted on and extend from oneportion of said cover to another;

(c) a first lift arm having one end thereof pivotally connected to saidcover attachment means;

(d) a second lift arm having one end thereof pivotally connected to saidcurb attachment means; and

(e) resilient means operably connected to said first lift arm and saidsecond lift arm for imparting a force to said lift arms for moving samefrom a closed position in which said lift arms are folded relative toeach other to an open position in which said lift arms are disposedsubstantially in alignment with each other.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1, including:

(a) hinge means connecting said cur-b attachment means to said coverattachment means for a pivotal movement thereof relative to each otherwhen said resilient means operates to move said lift arms from saidfirst position to said second position.

3. The structure set forth in claim 1 wherein said curb attachment meansincludes:

cover attachment means includes:

(a) a cover bracket for attaching to said cover;

(b) a hinge bracket for pivotally attaching to said curb attachmentmeans; and

(c) a cover stiffening element extending between and secured to saidcover bracket and said hinge bracket.-

5. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein: (a) said curb attachmentmeans includes:

( 1) a first wall-engaging bracket for engaging said one portion of saidcurb side wall; (2) a second wall-engaging bracket for engaging saidanother portion of said curb side wall; and (3) a curb stiffeningelement extending between and secured to said first and secondwall-engaging brackets; (b) said cover attachment means includes:

(1) a cover bracket for attaching to said cover; (2) a hinge bracket forpivotally attaching to said second wall-engaging bracket; and (3) acover stifi'ening element extending between and secured to said coverbracket and said hinge bracket; and (c) a hinge pivotally attaching saidhinge bracket to said second wall-engaging bracket. 6. The structure setforth in claim 1, wherein: (a) said resilient means includes a pair oftorque bars substantially perpendicular to said lift arms; (b) meanssecuring one of said torque bars to the other end of said first lift armso that torque is applied to such torque bar upon a pivotal movement ofsaid first lift arm from said second position towards said firstposition; and

(c) means securing another of said torque bars to the other end of saidsecond lift arm so that torque is applied to such torque bar upon apivotal movement of said first lift arm from said second positiontowards said first position.

7. The structure set forth in claim 6, wh rein:

(a) said torque bars are substantially parallel to each other; and

(b) means is provided for maintaining said torque bars substantiallyparallel as torque is applied thereto by the pivotal movements of saidlift arms.

8. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein:

(a) said curb attachment means includes:

(1) a first wall-engaging bracket for engaging said one portion of saidcurb side wall;

(2) a second wall-engaging bracket for engaging said another portion ofsaid curb side wall; and

(3) a pair of laterally spaced curb rods extending between and securedto said first and second wall-engaging brackets;

(b) said cover attachment means includes:

(1) a cover bracket for attaching to said cover;

(2) a hinge bracket for pivotally attaching to said second wall-engagingbracket; and

(3) a pair of laterally spaced cover rods extending between and securedto said cover bracket and said hinge bracket;

(c) a hinge pivotally attaching said hinge bracket to said secondwall-engaging bracket;

(d) means mounting and pivitally connecting said first lift arm in aplane substantially parallel to and between vertical planes in whichsaid curb rods are disposed; and

(e) means mounting and pivotally connecting said second lift arm in aplane substantially parallel to and between vertical planes in whichsaid cover rods are disposed.

9. The structure set forth in claim 1, wherein:

(a) the other ends of said first and second lift arms are pivotallyconnected together; and

(b) said resilient means includes a spring which is under compressionwhen said lift arms are in said first position.

10. The structure set forth in claim 1, including:

(a) pivotal connection means between said one end of said first lift armand said cover attachment means for providing pivotal movementtherebetween; and

(b) resilient means with said pivotal connection means for providingdelayed transmission of the raising of said first lift arm to saidsecond lift arm when they are urged apart by said resilient means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,137,751 11/1938 Davis 52-192,769,213 11/1956 Stetson 49-386 3,399,500 9/1968 Shapiro 52l FOREIGNPATENTS 636,854 2/1962 Canada.

KENNETH DOWNEY, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R.

